STATESBORO — Steve Williams is back home, back on the football field, and the first day of Georgia Southern football practice Wednesday afternoon felt pretty good for several reasons.

“I’m back in the heat,” said Williams, who transferred to the Eagles program after two years at the University of Pittsburgh.

It wasn’t a particularly warm day in Statesboro, particularly later in the afternoon as winds gusted and temperatures plummeted about 10 degrees to the mid 50s.

Williams may have been talking about temperature, but he’ll be feeling the heat in another way — replacing highly regarded safeties J.J. Wilcox and Darius Eubanks in GSU’s depleted secondary.

“I just want to help and get a championship,” Williams said.

Williams earned the 2010 Savannah Morning News Offensive Player of the Year after starring as a running back and defensive back at Calvary Day. He originally verbally committed to Georgia Southern only to back out during the final week of recruiting and accept an offer from Pittsburgh.

It was a decision prompted by his family, he said, but things didn’t work out.

“Now I’m here where I wanted to be,” he said.

Williams redshirted his first year at Pittsburgh and sat out with a shoulder injury the second year.

In November, he was dismissed from Pittsburgh after being charged with simple assault. Reportedly, a woman claimed to be assaulted by Williams in his apartment.

Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken said he talked to people associated with the Panthers program and felt Williams deserved a second chance. Williams enrolled at GSU in January.

Williams wouldn’t talk about the incident, but understands he will have a chance to repay Monken with his performance on the field.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, who will have three years of eligibility, had shoulder surgery in August but has been cleared for contact, giving the Eagles a good chance to see his skills in game-like conditions.

“It’s hard to tell in shorts, and he’s been injured all this past year in Pittsburgh,” Monken said. “It’s going to take some time to knock the rust off and get back in the groove, but we’re counting on him, because that’s a position where we’re really thin. We need a guy to step up.”

Defensive coordinator Jack Curtis, who oversees the safeties, sees a lot of physical talent in Williams, who ran for 1,691 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior at Calvary, but was a better prospect as a defensive back.

“He’s a big safety like the guys we had back there last year (Wilcox and Eubanks),” Curtis said. “He has a long way to go in learning the system, but I was really pleased with how well he moved out there.”

McKinnon injured

Georgia Southern’s starting quarterback Jerick McKinnon suffered a broken left hand (his non-throwing hand) during agility workouts about two weeks ago and will be kept out of contact this spring, Monken said.

McKinnon competed in passing drills on Wednesday.

Backup Ezayi Youyoute will be kept out of spring workouts to concentrate on academics, leaving redshirt freshmen Vegas Harley and Kevin Ellison running the offense.

GSU adds assistant

The Eagles gained more than 40 years of coaching experience to the staff after adding Clifford Yoshida to the coaching staff, GSU announced Wednesday.

Yoshida, who will coach Southern’s defensive linemen, was a defensive coordinator and line coach at Grambling State from 2007-2012, helping the Tigers to Southwestern Athletic Conference championships in 2008 and ’11.

He has also coached at North Carolina Central, Towson, North Carolina A&T, East Carolina, Southern University, Duke, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Utah State and Cal Poly.

Familiar faces

Wilcox and Eubanks spent some time on the sidelines watching their former teammates practice. Both will be in action for professional scouts on GSU’s Pro Day on Friday.

The athletes will lift at 8 a.m. at the Iron Works. They’ll compete in agility drills at 10 a.m. on the practice fields.

GSU PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Today 3:45 p.m.

Tuesday, March 26 3:45 p.m.

Thursday, March 28 3:45 p.m.

Friday, March 29 3:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 30 scrimmage*

Monday, April 1 3:45 p.m.

Tuesday, April 2 3:45 p.m.

Thursday, April 4 3:45 p.m.

Friday, April 5 3:45 p.m.

Saturday, April 6 scrimmage*

Tuesday, April 9 3:45 p.m.

Thursday, April 11 3:45 p.m.

Friday, April 12 3:45 p.m.

Saturday, April 13 spring game*

* Scrimmages will be held at Paulson Stadium at a time to be determined. Spring game is 1 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.

ON THE WEB

Go to savannahnow.com/sports to watch a video of Georgia Southern coach Jeff Monken talking about the Eagles’ first day of spring football.